Commonwealth v. Torres, 25 N.E.3d 311

In January 2008 Ramon Torres pleaded guilty to distribution of a Class B substance and was sentenced to one year in a house of correction.
Arrest arose from an undercover purchase; field test and subsequent testing at the William A. Hinton State Laboratory indicated the substance was cocaine.
The Hinton laboratory certificate of drug analysis was signed by assistant analysts Kate Corbett and Della Saunders; Annie Dookhan signed the certificate only in her capacity as a notary public.
After revelations of widespread misconduct at the Hinton lab and Dookhan’s guilty pleas, Torres moved in April 2013 to withdraw his guilty plea and for a new trial; the District Court (which had accepted the plea) denied the motion.
The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) had recently adopted the Ferrara two‑part test in Commonwealth v. Scott, creating a conclusive presumption of egregious government misconduct when Dookhan signed a certificate as a primary or secondary chemist, but explicitly excluding instances where she signed only as notary.
The SJC vacated the denial of Torres’s motion and remanded, holding Torres may attempt to prove both prongs of the Ferrara test (absence of the Scott presumption) and may file a new motion for a new trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Commonwealth)	Defendant's Argument (Torres)	Held
Whether Scott presumption of egregious misconduct applies when Dookhan signed only as notary on drug certificate	Scott presumption should not apply because Dookhan did not sign as primary/secondary chemist	Scott presumption should apply or, alternatively, Torres should get an opportunity to prove misconduct	Held: Presumption does not apply when Dookhan signed only as notary; Scott and Garner foreclose extending the presumption to notarizations
Whether defendant may nonetheless attempt to satisfy both Ferrara prongs without the presumption	Commonwealth argued trial court denial was proper based on the record before it	Torres argued he should be allowed to demonstrate egregious government misconduct and its materiality to his plea even without the presumption	Held: Torres may attempt to demonstrate both Ferrara prongs; appellate court vacated denial and remanded for further consideration and/or for Torres to file a new motion for a new trial

Commonwealth v. Scott, 467 Mass. 336 (2014) (adopting Ferrara two‑part test and creating presumption when Dookhan signed as chemist)
Ferrara v. United States, 456 F.3d 278 (1st Cir. 2006) (two‑part analysis for government misconduct affecting guilty plea)
Commonwealth v. Garner, 467 Mass. 363 (2014) (clarifying Scott does not apply where Dookhan signed only as notary)